Bamboo crafts on verge of extinction in Chandpur

Due to lack of patronisation and massive use of plastic items in kitchens both at households and restaurants, the presence of traditional bamboo-made handicrafts is declining fast.

A few years ago, bamboo-made handicrafts were used in the crop fields, houses and restaurant kitchens.

People including housewives were busy making the handicrafts for their livelihood. But in recent years, due to massive arrival of plastic items and their ads in electronic and social media, the use of bamboo-made items is rapidly disappearing in the markets across the district, though the bamboo-made items are much cheaper and affordable.

Once some villages in Faridganj upazila of the district were known for bamboo-made handicrafts. Paikpara Uttar and Dakhshin villages, Rupsha, Char Dukhiya, Purbo and Dakhshin and some other villages had been famous for the bamboo-made items for decades. About three hundred people were engaged in this profession to earn their bread. But in recent years, due to the impact of latest technology, plastic items are capturing the markets in rural markets. Many hawkers are seen visiting rural people with plastic items by vans. As a result, this bamboo-made handicraft items are on the wane, said a few makers of handicrafts.

Talking to the FE Correspondent, Harun Mia, a maker of handicrafts of Larua village in Faridganj upazila, said, "We used to earn much money by making these handicraft items at home. But in the last few years, the demand for these items has declined immensely due to appearance of colourful plastic items in the hats and bazaars".

Billal Hossain, another maker of handicrafts of Ramdabazar area in Faridganj upazila, said, "Two decades ago we regularly used bamboo made materials for our household activities. But now these bamboo-made materials have become a symbol of yester years to the modern people.

In a recent meeting at Chandpur Press Club, the speakers called upon the government to create awareness among people about the use of bamboo-made handicraft items for a healthy environment.

The handicraft-makers and traders told FE that now a days due to random use of colourful plastic items in the domestic chores, the handmade items of bamboos are losing their importance and demand in our day-to-day life. So, the sale is much less. "Yet we are trying hard to survive," one said adding that they could not leave this trade because they inherited this from fathers and grandfathers.

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